3336: 36 50 (2012) Article … 36 50 (2012) Article ZOOTAXA ...Published in: Zootaxa · 2012Authors: Giuseppina Pellizzari · Francesco Porcelli · Stefano Convertini · Salvato…Affiliation:

36 Accepted by C.J. Hodgson: 13 Apr. 2012; published: 6 Jun. 2012

ZOOTAXAISSN 1175-5326 (print edition)

ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition)Copyright © 2012 · Magnolia Press

Zootaxa 3336: 36–50 (2012) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article

Description of nymphal instars and adult female of Kermes vermilio Planchon (Hemiptera, Coccoidea, Kermesidae), with a synopsis of the European and Mediterranean species

GIUSEPPINA PELLIZZARI1, FRANCESCO PORCELLI2, STEFANO CONVERTINI2 & SALVATORE MAROTTA3

1University of Padova, Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse Naturali e Ambiente DAFNAE, viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]à di Bari Aldo Moro, DiBCA sez. Entomologia e Zoologia, via Amendola 165A, 70126 Bari, Italy3Università della Basilicata, Dipartimento di Biologia, Difesa e Biotecnologie Agro-forestali, Potenza, Italy (deceased)

Summary

The morphology of the 1st-instar, 2nd-instar male and female, 3rd-instar female and adult female of Kermes vermilio Plan-chon (Hemiptera Coccoidea Kermesidae) are described and illustrated; micrographs of some morphological details arealso provided. An identification key to instars and a table showing the present status of knowledge on the morphology ofEuropean and Mediterranean Kermes instars is included.

Key words: gall-like scales, morphology, instar descriptions, identification key

Introduction

The genus Kermes Boitard, 1828, includes 63 species, distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and strictlylinked to Fagaceae of the genus Quercus, although some Asiatic Kermes have been collected off other fagaceousgenera such as Castanea, Castanopsis, Pasania, Lithocarpus and two North American species off Chrysolepis(Miller et al., 2005; Ben-Dov et al., 2012). Twenty Kermes species have been recorded so far in Europe and theMediterranean Region, all off deciduous and evergreen oaks (Table 1).

Kermes vermilio Planchon lives on evergreen oaks, mainly on Quercus ilex L., and occurs throughout theMediterranean countries. In the past, it was of great economic importance as a red dye source until it was replacedby the Mexican cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus Costa, 1829.

In Italy, the species has only been reported rarely as a pest but, since 1987, it has become invasive on ornamen-tal Q. ilex trees and heavy infestations have been recorded in urban environments, mainly in Central and SouthernItaly (Belcari & Minnocci, 1989; Belcari, 1991; Del Bene & Landi, 1992; Andreatta, 1996; Marotta et al., 1999). Inthe small town of Rapolla (South Italy, Basilicata region), the infestation was so heavy in Spring 1993 that up to750 individuals/m of branch were recorded. This heavy infestation provided the opportunity to study its biology(Marotta et al., 1999) and the morphology of the different instars. During this morphological study, the presence offrontal lobes on 2nd-instar males and females, 3rd-instar females and prepupae, previously known only in the Fam.Eriococcidae (Williams, 1985), was observed for the first time in the family Kermesidae (Marotta & Tranfaglia,1999).

The morphology of Kermes species, based on microscopic characters, is still largely unknown. With regard toMediterranean and European species, Leonardi (1920) gave a description of the first instars of K. vermilio, K. robo-ris (Fourcroy), K. ilicis (Linnaeus) and K. bacciformis Leonardi. Balachoswky (1950) described and illustrated indetail the first instars of K. vermilio, K. roboris, K. quercus (Linnaeus), K. ilicis and K. bacciformis and, later(1953), the first instars of three new species, namely K. echinatus, K. palestiniensis and K. spatulatus. Borchsenius(1960) described and illustrated the first instar and the adult male and female of K. quercus, and also nymphalinstars of other Kermes species (see Table 1). Tsalev (1964) described and illustrated the first instar of K. gibbosus

Zootaxa 3336 © 2012 Magnolia Press · 37DESCRIPTION OF KERMES VERMILIO INSTARS

Signoret. Sternlicht (1969, 1972) described adult female and nymphal instars of K. bytinskii and K. williamsi (Table1). Koteja (1974) studied the morphology of the labium of K. quercus. A notable effort in describing the nymphsand young adult females of Nearctic species was made by Bullington and Kosztarab (1985) and Baer and Kosz-tarab (1985). More recently, Podsiadlo (2005; 2005a, 2012) described the nymphs of K. quercus and some morpho-logical peculiarities in the adult female. Williams (2007) gave an account of the Kermes species described byLinnaeus and discussed the possible priority of the binomen K. ilicis Linnaeus over K. vermilio (Planchon), cred-ited by Linnaeus as the species producing red dye.

With regard to K. vermilio, the morphology of the 1st-instar nymph, 3rd-instar female nymph and the pre-repro-ductive adult female were described and illustrated many years ago (Balachowsky, 1950; Borchsenius, 1960), butthe 2nd-instars nymphs (male and female), prepupa, pupa and adult male are still undescribed. This paper presentsdescriptions or redescriptions of the 1st-instar nymph, 2nd-instar male and female nymphs, 3rd-instar female nymphand adult female of K. vermilio, based on specimens mostly taken from a single deme, but compared with speci-mens collected in other Italian locations.

This paper is in memory of our late colleague Salvatore Marotta. Salvatore prepared a first draft of this paperand made the first drawings of the morphology of K. vermilio before his untimely death in December 2001. Wehave compared Salvatore’s descriptions with his slide material and have rewritten the text based on his text butincluding recent observations. In addition, the figures have been redrawn and the key to instars, plates, synopsis ofKermes species in the Mediterranean and the comments have been added by Pellizzari, Porcelli and Convertini.

Material and methods

The specimens were collected off Quercus ilex in North, Central and South Italy. Those collected in South Italy(Rapolla (PZ), Basilicata region, April 1993 - May 1995, leg. S. Marotta) were mounted according to the proceduredescribed by Bullington and Kosztarab (1985). The specimens collected in North and Central Italy (Toblino,Trento, 15.v.1990, slides n. 290; Verona, 16.v.1994, slides n. 549/1-4; Pescara, 21.viii.2008, slides n.1517/1-7, leg.G. Pellizzari) were mounted according to the procedure described by Kosztarab and Kozár (1988). Some adultfemales were split into dorsum and venter to provide a clear view on the morphological structures.

Observations were made in bright field and Phase contrast by Axiophot, Photomicroscope III and StandardWL Zeiss microscopes. Details of some uncoated, cold tetrahydrofuran de-waxed, adult post-reproductive femaleswere studied and pictured by Hitachi TM3000 SEM in charge-reduction mode. Measurements were taken on 50 1st-instars specimens and on 20 specimens of each other instar. Morphological details were checked on additionalspecimens. Measurements are in millimetres or microns and include the average followed by the range in parenthe-sis. Terminology follows that of Bullington and Kosztarab (1985) and Baer and Kosztarab (1985), except that hair-like setae are referred to as trichoid setae and fleshy setae as chaetic setae (following Snodgrass, 1935). Specificterminology for K. vermilio includes the basal protrusion, or frontal swelling, and the frontal lobes, previouslydefined and described by Williams (1985) and Marotta and Tranfaglia (1999).

Specimens depository: all specimens are deposited in the Scientific Museums of the University of Padova(Italy), at the Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment - DAFNAE, vialedell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy.

Kermes vermilio Planchon, 1864

FIRST INSTAR NYMPH (Fig. 1). Living specimen: oval and flat, orange-red (Plate 1: c), with yellow legs. Set-tled specimens at first covered by mealy-white wax secretion, and then by thin wax threads. In overwintering spec-imens, the secretion consists of wax tufts regularly arranged on dorsum.

Mounted specimen: derm membranous, body oval, 611 (375–795) μm long, 358 (198–710) μm wide.Dorsum. Marginal setae conical, spinose and stout, each 9 (8–13) μm long, 5 (4–7) μm wide at base, with 33

(29–36) on each margin. Submedial setae shorter and thinner than marginal setae, with one pair present on head, oneach thoracic segment and on abdominal segments I and II. Simple pores not found. Bilocular pores distributed in asingle transverse row of 6 pores on second abdominal segment. Anal lobes small, lightly sclerotized, each with twoconical setae on inner margin, each about 8–10 μm long.

PELLIZZARI ET AL.38 · Zootaxa 3336 © 2012 Magnolia Press

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FIGURE 1. Kermes vermilio Planchon, 1st-instar nymph.


Venter. Dermal spinules present medially on abdomen and thorax. Antennae 6-segmented, each 127

(105–213) μm long; scape with 1 trichoid seta; pedicel with 4 trichoid setae; 3rd segment with 1 trichoid seta; 4th

segment with a chaetic seta; 5th with 2 trichoid and 1 chaetic setae; apical segment with 5 trichoid and 3 chaeticsetae. Clypeolabral shield 94 (83–133) μm long. Labium triangular in shape, 3-segmented, 88 (70–95) μm long,basal and second segments each with one pair of setae, third segment with 4 pairs. Stylet loop longer than body.Basal protrusion and frontal lobe not found. Legs well developed, with two dome-shaped sensilla on each tro-chanter. Thoracic spiracles small and narrow, each about 19 (15–23) μm long and 6 (3–10) μm wide, usually withone, rarely two, disc-pores, each about 3.5 μm wide with 5–7 loculi. Pores: with a trilocular or 4-locular pore pres-ent near base of each scape; a bilocular pore, about 2 μm wide, present near base of each spiracle, and one on eachmargin of meso- and meta-thorax; also pairs of slightly larger trilocular pores, each about 3 μm wide, present medi-ally on head, on margin of prothorax, medially on metathorax and on abdominal segments V–VII. Trichoid setae in6 longitudinal rows on abdominal segments: medial row setae each 12 (10–17) μm long; submedial row 7 (6–9) μmlong; submarginal row 4 (3–5) μm long; a few other short setae present on thorax and head. Anal lobes small andlightly sclerotized, each with one conical seta and one apical flagellate seta, latter 249 (200–288) μm long. Analring oval, 19 (15–25) μm long, 20 (18–24 μm) wide, with 6 setae, each 10 (8–15) long; with one pair of fine setaeon anterior margin, each 13 (8–18) μm long, and another pair on posterior margin, each 27 (20–38) μm long.

Comments. Among the Mediterranean and European Kermes species, the 1st instar of K. vermilio is easily dis-tinguishable by the presence of conical, spine-like marginal setae. The 1st instar of K. echinatus also has spine-likemarginal setae, but the latter are longer and slightly bent.

SECOND-INSTAR FEMALE (Fig. 2). Living specimen: oval, red, with white wax tufts regularly arranged ondorsum and thin wax threads on margin.

Mounted specimen: body oval, 1 (0.8–1.4) mm long, 0.7 (0.4–1) mm wide.Dorsum. Marginal setae conical, spinose and stout, each 14 (11–15) μm long, 6 (5–7) μm wide at base; with

36 (34-37) on each margin. A few small conical setae, each about 8–10 long, similar to marginal setae, sometimesbent, present mainly along body submargins of meso- and metathorax and first abdominal segments but also in atransverse single row on metathorax. Anal lobes fused.

Venter. Dermal crenules present medially on abdomen and thorax. Antennae usually 5-segmented, each 72

(63–83) μm long; scape usually with 2 very short setae, 4th segment with one chaetic seta; 5th segment with 4trichoid and 3 chaetic setae. Clypeolabral shield 136 (113–163) μm long. Labium triangular, 126 (103–142) μmlong, 3-segmented, basal and second segments each with one pair of setae, third segment with 4 pairs. Frontal lobespresent, “sausage-shaped”, sometimes about as long as antennae; basal protrusion, or frontal swelling, not fullydeveloped. Legs short, tubercle-like, two-segmented, usually with some short setae and a small, misshapen claw.Spiracles well developed, sclerotized; each anterior spiracle 38 (32–45) μm long and 13 (11–13) μm wide, usuallywith 3 (rarely 2 or 4) five-locular pores, each 4 μm wide; each posterior spiracle 40 (35–45) long and 13 (10–15)μm wide, with 1 or 2 five-locular pores. Bilocular pores, each about 2 μm wide, distributed in a submarginal row onabdomen, with 1–3 near each spiracle, 1 or 2 on head and on each thoracic segment. Occasional specimens with upto three 5-locular pores, each about 4 μm wide, on submargin of last abdominal segments. Tubular ducts, each 10μm long and 4 wide with a thin inner filament, distributed in 2 submarginal, 2 submedial and 2 medial longitudinalrows on abdomen, and sparse throughout thorax and head. Body setae distributed in 6 longitudinal rows on abdo-men: with a pair of flagellate setae, each 22 (15–25) μm long present medially on each abdominal and thoracic seg-ment; a pair of submedial setae, smaller than medial, on each abdominal segment, and a short seta, 5 μm long, onsubmargin of each abdominal segment; some flagellate setae also present medially on thorax and head. Anal lobessmall, each with one conical seta and one quite long apical seta, 52 (38–63) μm long. Anal ring oval, 35 (25–40)μm long, 30 (23–38) μm wide, with 6 setae, each 28 (15–38) μm long; also with a pair of setose setae, each 18(13–25) μm long, in front of anterior margin of anal ring.

Comments. Descriptions of 2nd-instar Kermes females are very few, probably because this stage is present on thehost plant for a very short time. Among the Palaearctic species, the only other described 2nd-instar females are of K.bytinskii (Sternlicht, 1969) and K. quercus (Podsiadlo, 2012). K. bytinskii differs from K. vermilio as follows(characters of K. vermilio in brackets): marginal setae hair-like (spine-like); presence of well developed legs (legstubercle-like); tubular ducts present on dorsum and venter (on venter only); trilocular and 5-locular pores present ondorsum (on venter only). K. quercus differs from K. vermilio mainly by the presence of tubular ducts on dorsum andof numerous 5-locular pores on venter.


Some Nearctic 2nd-instar females have been described and all have well-developed legs and 5-locular poresrestricted to the venter only. In addition, K. cockerelli Ehrhorn has few dorsal setae and rare dorsal simple poreswhich, according to Baer & Kosztarab (1985), are easily missed; K. rimarum Ferris has only 2 dorsal longitudinalrows of small submedial setae and no dorsal pores; and K. concinnulus Cockerell has 2 dorsal longitudinal rows ofsmall submedial setae and scattered simple pores on dorsum, each 2 μm wide (Baer & Kosztarab, 1985).

FIGURE 2. Kermes vermilio Planchon, 2nd-instar female nymph.


SECOND-INSTAR MALE (Fig. 3). Living specimen: similar to first-instar nymphs, but more elliptical; dor-sum with white wax tufts regularly arranged and without thin wax threads.

Mounted specimen: body oval, 1.3 (0.9–1.6) mm long, 0.7 (0.5–0.9) mm wide.Dorsum. Marginal setae conical, short and stout, mostly 14 (11–17) μm long, 6 (4–7) μm wide at base, but

with some smaller and thinner setae interspersed; with 35 (33–37) on each margin. Submedial conical setae, shorterand thinner than marginal setae, in 6–8 pairs, distributed in submedial rows from head to metathorax, each 7 (5–10)μm long, 3 μm wide; also with 2–4 pairs forming a short longitudinal row medially on frons. Simple pores absent.Bilocular pores few, each 2 μm wide, sparse on head, thorax and across first abdominal segments. Tubular ducts,each 10 μm long and 4 wide with a thin inner filament, present in irregular transverse bands across abdominal seg-ments and thorax; sparse on head. Anal lobes small, lightly sclerotized and partially fused.

Venter. Dermal crenules present medially on venter of thorax and head. Antennae 7-segmented, each 192

(120–255) μm long. Scape with 2 trichoid setae; pedicel with 2 trichoid setae; 4th segment with 1 trichoid seta; 5th

segment with 1 chaetic seta; last segment with 5 trichoid and 3 chaetic setae. Single preantennal pore present justanterior to each scape. Clypeolabral shield 125 (90–160) μm long. Labium triangular, 117 (105–135) μm long, 3-segmented, basal and second segments each with one pair of setae, third segment with 4 pairs. Frontal lobes pres-ent, shorter than antennae. Legs well developed, each trochanter with 2 dome-shaped sensilla; claw with a smalldenticle. Spiracles: each anterior spiracle 40 (35–43) μm long and 13 (10–14) μm wide, usually with 3 (rarely 2 or4) spiracular pores, each 4 μm wide with 5–6 loculi; each posterior spiracle 41 (38–45) μm long and 14 (13–15) μmwide, usually with one (rarely 2) spiracular pores. Quinquelocular pores forming four longitudinal submarginal andsubmedial rows on abdomen, with 5 pores in each submedial row, and 6 or 7 in each submarginal row. Bilocularpores few, of two slightly different shapes, each about 3 μm wide, in a single submarginal row on abdomen and tho-rax. Tubular ducts similar to those on dorsum, present along body margin and submargin and in irregular transversebands on thorax; sparse on head; also with 4-6 ducts across each abdominal segment. Body setae, each usually 42(39–44) μm long, present on head and thorax, in groups between legs, and forming 6 longitudinal rows on abdo-men; each medial setae about 35 (24–39) μm long, submedial setae 7 (6–9) μm long, and submarginal setae 5 (5–6)μm long. Anal lobes poorly developed, each with one conical seta 30 (23–38) μm long, on inner margin and onefairly long apical seta, 92 (880–105) μm long. Anal ring round, 37 (33–40) μm long, 36 (32–40) wide, with poresand 6 setae, each 43 (28– 48) long.

Comments. Among the Palaearctic species, the only other 2nd-instar Kermes males described are those of K.bytinskii, K. williamsi (Sternlicht, 1969; 1972) and K. quercus (Podsiadlo, 2012).They clearly differ from K. ver-

milio because their marginal setae are long and hair-like, whereas those of K. vermilio are spinose.The Nearctic 2nd-instar males of K. cockerelli, K. rimarum and K. concinnulus also have long, hair-like marginal setae, and alsotubular ducts and 5-locular pores scattered on both the dorsum and venter (Baer & Kosztarab, 1985).

THIRD-INSTAR FEMALE (Fig. 4). Living specimen: body largely oval or hemispherical, red or brown; dor-sum covered with glassy wax with some protruding conical waxy tufts regularly distributed (Plate 1: d).

Mounted specimen: body rounded, 1.8 (1–2.4) mm long and 1.6 (0.9–2.8) mm wide.Dorsum. Marginal setae conical, thick, with 88 (66–111) setae on each margin, of three different size ran-

domly placed: 1) large setae, each 17 (15–19) μm long, 7 (9–11) μm wide at base; 2) medium-sized setae, each 13(11–14) μm long, 3.5 μm wide at base; and 3) small setae, each 8 (7–9) μm long and 3 μm wide at base; also withsubmarginal groups of 1-3 conical setae similar to medial and small marginal setae. Other conical setae, each 15µm long and 3.5 µm wide at base, present in a submedial line from head to metathorax; also very small conicalsetae, each 7 (6-8) μm long and 2 μm wide, irregularly distributed submarginally and over abdominal segments,mingled with small thin setae. Small bilocular pores sparse over dorsum. Tubular ducts and anal lobes absent.

Venter. Dermal crenules present medially on abdomen and thorax. Antennae short, each 2 or 3 segmented, butoften with unclear segmentation, each 75 (55–88) μm long; penultimate segment usually with one chaetic seta; api-cal segment with 4 trichoid and 3 chaetic setae. Frontal lobes well developed. Clypeolabral shield 180 (138–213)μm long. Labium subtriangular, 168 (130–190) μm long, 3-segmented, basal and second segments each with onepair of setae, third segment with 4 pairs. Legs small, tubercle-like, possibly two-segmented, usually with 4 shortsetae and a short, misshapen claw. Spiracles well developed, sclerotized, each anterior spiracle 73 (55–100) μmlong and 35 (25–55) μm wide, with 3–5 associated spiracular disc-pores, each about 4 μm wide and with 2–-6 loc-uli (usually 5 or 6); each posterior spiracle 84 (63–100) μm long and 39 (25–55) μm wide, with 2 or 3 associateddisc-pores; some specimens with 1 or 2 disc-pores also present in middle of thorax or on last abdominal segment.


FIGURE 3. Kermes vermilio Planchon, 2nd-instar male nymph.


FIGURE 4. Kermes vermilio Planchon, 3rd-instar female nymph.

Bilocular pores‚ each about 3 μm wide, present throughout venter, most numerous on submargin. Tubular ductseach 15 (14–16) μm long, 3–4 μm wide, present in a wide marginal band and forming an irregular single rowacross each abdominal segment; sparse medially on thorax and head. Ventral trichoid setae in transverse rows onabdominal segments, plus a few on thorax and head. Anal lobes fused; longest apical seta 65 (50–80) μm long andauxiliary seta 21 (15–30) μm long. Anal ring almost circular 42 (37–43) μm long and 38 (25–40) μm wide; analring with pores, anal setae not seen; with three pairs of suranal setae, each 16 (10–23) μm long.

Comments. Borchsenius (1960) described and illustrated the 3rd-instar nymph (“older larval stage”) of K. ver-milio. His description is similar to ours although he did not recognise the presence of dorsal and ventral bilocular


pores. Borchsenius (1960) also provided a description and drawing of the 3rd instar of K. globosus Borchsenius.From his drawing, we can infer that this Asiatic species has segmented legs, a ventral submarginal band of tubularducts, simple pores and 5-locular pores scattered throughout the dorsum. Among the Nearctic Kermes, only the 3rd

instar of K. sylvestris (Cockerell & King) has been described and illustrated: it has a ventral submarginal band oftubular ducts, marginal spine-like setae and 5-locular pores sparse on body margin and venter (Bullington & Kost-zarab, 1985). No other 3rd instars of Kermes species have been described. It should be noted that the description andillustration of the 3rd instar of the K. bytinskii by Sternlicht (1972) is clearly a pre-reproductive adult female.

ADULT FEMALE (Fig. 5). Living specimen: fully-grown reproductive females sub-spherical, dark red orbrown, covered with a fine white or pale grey mealy wax; body 5 (3–7) mm long, 4.7 (2.7–6.6) mm wide and 4.6(2.6–6) mm high (Plate 2: a, b, c). Due to their heavily sclerotized cuticle, these are unsuitable for a reliable identi-fication based on microscopic morphological characters. The following description is based on young pre-repro-ductive females.

Mounted specimen: body of young pre-reproductive rounded, 3.3 (1.7–3.5) mm long and 3 (1.3–3.4) mmwide.

Dorsum. Marginal setae all similar and spine-like, conical‚ stout, blunt (Plate 2: a), each 18 (13–20) μm long,7.5 (7–12) μm wide at base, with 92 (73–133) setae on each margin. Dorsal setae spinose, conical, unevenly dis-tributed, each about 12 (7–14) μm long and 3–6 μm wide. Small bilocular pores, each about 1.7 μm wide, sparse ina wide submarginal band. Tubular ducts, each 12 μm long and 4 μm wide, present throughout dorsum, most numer-ous along body margin and submargin.

Venter. Dermal crenules present medially on abdomen and thorax (Plate 2: b). Antennae short, tubercle-like,with unclear segmentation, each 88 (50–115) μm long, usually with 2 short setae near base, 2 chaetic setae medi-ally and 7 or 8 setae at apex. Basal protrusion and frontal lobes absent. Clypeolabral shield 234 (213–250) μmlong. Labium subtriangular, 217 (188–250) μm long, 3-segmented, basal and second segments each with one pairof setae, third segment with 4 pairs. Legs absent. Spiracles well developed and sclerotized, each anterior spiracle150 (125–175) μm long and 109 (95–125) μm wide, each posterior spiracle 151 (125–190) μm long and 120(100–138) μm wide. Bilocular pores (Plate 2: e)‚ each about 3 μm wide, scattered on head and thorax, most numer-ous along body submargins; rare medially on abdominal segments. Multilocular pores (Plate 3: c, f)‚ each with10–12 loculi and about 7 μm wide, present in wide transverse bands on abdominal segments and forming groupsnear each spiracle and antennae. Tubular ducts (Plate 2: a, g), each about 21–25 μm long and 3.2–4μm wide, form-ing a wide, dense, marginal band (Plate 3: d), but sparse over remaining venter and in single rows across abdominalsegments. Ventral setae each 12 (10–17) μm long distributed across abdominal segments, plus a few also mediallyand submedially on head and thorax, these 17 (14–20) μm long. Longest apical seta each 73 (65–85) μm long; with3 pairs of suranal setae, each 19 (13–25) μm long. Anal ring roughly oval, 40 (30–55) μm long and 36 (30–48) μmwide, with pores, without setae.

Comments. Our description of the adult female of C. vermilio agrees well with that of Borchsenius (1960)although he did not record the tubular ducts across the ventral segments nor the presence of dorsal bilocular pores.

The structure of the multilocular disc-pores in the adult female was studied under a SEM microscope (Plate 2,f) and proved to be different from their appearance under the phase-contrast microscope (Plate 3, c) and as usuallyrepresented in scientific drawings. The structure suggests that a ridged waxy tube rather than several wax filamentsis extruded through this kind of pore. Possibly this pore structure is similar throughout the Kermesidae and SEMstudies could show a similar morphology in other Kermes species.

In comparison with other adult female Kermes, those of K. vermilio lack legs (i.e. not even reduced to tuber-cles), whereas the adult females of other Palaearctic or Oriental Kermes species (i.e. K. bacciformis, K. corticalis,K. quercus, K. roboris, K. williamsi, K. bytinskii, K. punctatus Borchsenius, Kermes macrantherae Borchsenius, K.miyasakii Kuwana, K. orientalis Liu & Shi, K. flavus Liu, K. bannaensis Liu) (Leonardi, 1920; Kuwana, 1931;Borchsenius, 1960; Liu, 1995; Liu and Shi, 1995) have segmented legs, even if the segments are reduced or par-tially fused. This is also true of the Nearctic species (Bullington and Kosztarab, 1985).


FIGURE 5. Kermes vermilio Planchon, adult female.


PLATE 1. Kermes vermilio Planchon, macroscopic appearance and damage to Quercus ilex: a) adult post-reproductive femaleand nymphs (Bitonto (BA), April 2009, Italy); b) young reproductive females, third-instar female nymphs and crawlers (Bari,July 2008, Italy); c) fully-mature reproductive female with crawlers (Lecce, July 2012, Italy); d) third-instar female nymphs(Lecce, July 2010, Italy); e) male test under a leaf; (f) branch infested by tests (Bari, May 2010, Italy); and g) dieback due to K.vermilio outbreak in an urban environment (Bari, May 2010, Italy).


PLATE 2. Kermes vermilio Planchon 1864, microscopic details of adult female: a) large black arrow: marginal spines; smallblack arrow: dorsal spine; white arrow: tubular ducts b) foreground: adult female ventral dermal crenules background: tubularducts; c) multilocular-disc pores; inset: one enlarged multilocular disc-pore; d) arrow: marginal band of tubular ducts in apostreproductive female; e) dorsal bilocular pore; arrows: imprint of coiled wax threads; f) multilocular-disc pore; g) orifice oftubular duct; arrow: imprint of coiled wax threads. Pictures a, b & c: phase-contrast of stained mounted specimens; d, e, f, g:SEM of uncoated specimen in charge-reduction mode.


Key to Kermes vermilio instars (prepupa, pupa and adult male not included)

1 Legs present, fully developed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2- Legs, if any, small, with indistinct segmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Antennae 6-segmented; without tubular ducts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st instar- Antennae 7-segmented; tubular ducts abundant on dorsum and venter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd instar male3 Antennae 5-segmented; with 34-37 marginal setae on each side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd instar female- Antennae very short, unsegmented or with obscure segmentation; with more than 70 marginal setae on each side . . . . . . . . . . 44 Multilocular disc-pores absent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd instar female- Multilocular disc-pores distributed in wide bands ventrally on abdomen and in groups near each antenna and spiracle . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . adult female

Comments on genus Kermes

Ferris (1955) pointed out the extreme difficulty that students of Kermes morphology face when trying identify ordescribe them, due to the heavy sclerotization that the mature adult develops, referring to this as an “almost impos-sible situation”. It is well known that the descriptions, and the subsequent identification of Kermes species, aremainly based on the external appearance of post-reproductive females, and this can vary depending on several fac-tors (age, exposure to meteorological agents, etc).

Balachoswky (1950) provided the first identification keys to European and West Mediterranean species (K.vermilio, K. roboris, K. ilicis and K. bacciformis) based on first-instar nymphs, whose morphological characters arestable and reliable. Later, the same author (1953) gave a short description based on the external appearance of post-reproductive females of three new species from Israel, namely Kermes echinatus, K. palestiniensis and K. spatula-tus, and also provided detailed descriptions of their first instars, so making possible a reliable identification. How-ever, he also observed that these three new species could be junior synonyms of K. biblicus (Bodenheimer), K.greeni Bodenheimer, and K. nahalali Bodenheimer, also described from Israel, but based on post-reproductivefemales only (Bodenheimer, 1926; 1931). According to Ben-Dov & Harpaz (1985), no type material of K. biblicusis available and so its status may never be clarified.

This situation is complicated by the fact that several Kermes species have been described from just one coun-try: i.e. a total of 7 Kermes species are known only from Israel. Of these, K. biblicus, K. echinatus, K. greeni, K.nahalali, K. palestiniensis, are known only off Quercus coccifera whereas the other three species are known off Q.ithaburensis and Q. aegilops. In addition, 4 other Kermes species are known only from Turkey (see Table 1). Alto-gether 9 species have been described using the external appearance of the post-reproductive female only (see Table1). In the absence of descriptions of their 1st-instar nymphs, misidentifications or synonymies are to be expected.The present status of knowledge on the morphology of European and Mediterranean Kermes instars is reported inTable 1. A revision of the species and the description of the first instars of most of these species are greatly neededand would help to clarify their systematic position.

Acknowledgements

Giuseppina Pellizzari, Francesco Porcelli and Stefano Convertini are grateful to prof. A. Tranfaglia and prof. Dona-tella Battaglia (University of Basilicata, Italy), who made available manuscripts and material of Salvatore Marotta,thus making possible the publication of this paper in memory of Salvatore.

We thank Ferenc Kozár, Plant protection Department, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary,for his useful remarks and observations and Chris Hodgson, The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK, forrevising the manuscript and for useful suggestions which improved the manuscript. We acknowledge the help ofPaolo Paolucci, University of Padova, Department DAFNAE, who kindly made the drawings.

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